How To Delete Your Facebook Account Permanently

In case you’ve been wondering how to delete your Facebook account and intend to jump ship to Google+, or are simply tired of how Facebook treats you and your privacy as a user, this post is for you.

When it comes to providing its users with an option to quit, Facebook has always been a notorious company. They make it ridiculously tricky for a user to quit their service in a bid to keep them tied into it. The option to actually delete a Facebook account permanently isn’t even directly available on their site. Users need to do a lot of digging about in order to get the option to close their account completely. All they do provide is an option for a user to deactivate an account, and this too came about only after protests from a lot of users.

How To Delete Your Facebook Account Permanently

Firstly, you need to understand how Facebook handles account deletions. There are a lot of websites on the Internet that allow you to sign in using your Facebook account. This service is called Facebook Connect. The thing about this authentication is that using your account from said websites will cancel your account deletion request and keep you tied in to Facebook. So, as a user who wants to deactivate a Facebook account permanently, your first step of action would be to de-authorize sites from using your Facebook account for sign-ins. You can do this by going to Account > Account Settings. Thereafter, remove all Linked Accounts from the page that shows up.

The next step to take in order to permanently delete your Facebook account is to go to Account > Privacy Settings. Click Edit Your Settings at the bottom of the screen and then de-authorize all third-party apps listed on the page that shows up.

Preparing To Delete Your Facebook Account Permanently

Before you completely delete your Facebook account, you probably want to make a backup of all data that was ever shared using your account. This can be done by Account > Account Settings > Download Your Information. Follow the various prompts and you should be good.

Finally comes the step to delete the Facebook account. The amount of work this requires (thanks to Facebook’s ridiculous interface options) makes it deserve a post in itself, so we are going to cover it in as much detail as possible. In case you are looking for a temporary de-activation only, head over to Settings > Account Settings > Deactivate Account.

In order to completely delete and remove your account, you need to head over to Account > Help Centre. This will lead you to a page where you need to ask Facebook a question. In the input box, enter the search terms “delete account” and select the first suggestion that comes up.

A page will display a lot of “related” questions to “help you out”. Scroll straight down this page until you get to something shown in the screenshot below.

Hit that “submit your request here” link, and wait for Facebook to prompt you to delete your account.

Click on Submit. A small window appear to ask you for confirmation and whether you’re sure that you’re looking to delete your Facebook account permanently. Fill out the Captcha and enter your Password. Click Okay to finally submit your request to delete your Facebook account permanently.

Deleting A Facebook Account — Final Steps

No. That doesn’t do it yet. After submitting your request, you need to sign out of your Facebook account on all devices and have to leave your account idle for a (long) period of 14 days. Facebook considers this a reasonable amount of time because they are hoping that aliens will abduct you and change your mind with advanced space technology. At the end of the 14 day period, you can rest assured that your Facebook account will be deleted permanently.

In my opinion, it shouldn’t be so tough for a user to get his/her data out of any cloud-based web app or service. The fact that Facebook makes this simple feature such a long-winded procedure sets off alarm in my mind. As a user, it takes away a bit of the trust we tend to (sometimes, blindly) put into the Internet and its vast network of websites. At the end of the day, no one should be made to feel uncomfortable about having (a part of) their lives on the Internet.

What do you think about Facebook account deletion process? Have you tried to delete your Facebook account and failed? Let us know all about it in the comments. If you found this post useful, which I’m sure you have, please share it (especially on Facebook!).

About author

Abhigyan Banerjee is a software professional with a keen eye for tech. At most times, he's hunched over a keyboard, blazing through work. At others, you'll find him hacking through his Android, reading and writing tech. Follow him on Twitter (@abhigyanb) or on Facebook.

Also a good footnote to remember, deleting your account does not permanatly remove all your information from FB’s database. I have seen recently some FB account History used in litigation matters recently in Florida, not in the court room as eveidence , but in building profiles and gaining information! I personally use FB as a great social resource, but anyone who uses it must remember there is a permanent “Footprint” left behind!

this is difficult that fb did not login,i have no enoigh computer,either my is incorrect or account is compromised or hijaked,i like face book but when it does not displaythen i want to deactivate and delete and want instal new one,I am one the social worker like face book,thank you for free help,i am veterinnary graduate and did M.Sc hons weither my application can be process, i am now on simple N5 mobile no computer,Muhammad azam